#Mechanical Pencils

[lycomorpha]

For anyone else who appreciates gratuitous art supply pics ✏️💖🖌️ Later I'll get an updated pic of the giant jar where pencils go to die, too.

Also, for fellow spoonies with creaky hands; that grey foam pipe lagging makes the absolute best (& cheapest) pencil holder ever!

[eggbunni]

Desk mess. Sorting through pencils and leads right now to update my sketch kit.

[noxcaelestia]

If I decide to nerd out over mechanical pencils and techniques I like please don’t stop me.

I do have a secret that I can prove personally that if you’re using mechanical pencil leads from 0.2mm to 0.9mm, it doesn’t always matter the size if you’re aiming for super thin lines.

However there are many different factors at play such as the brands and hardnesses you’re most comfortable with of pencils and leads, the surface you’re drawing on and your drawing stance/position that’s most comfortable also. Oh and if you’re looking to finely polish minute details.

I grip the pencil firmly in my most comfortable position and lightly glide the pencil on the surface. The harder you press (carefully since the lead will break), naturally the thicker the lines. You just get more range with larger pencils.

Also a universal technique, gently sand down the pencil lead on a surface diagonally then you get an even smaller point on one end and you cover more surface area on the other end.

[the-mighty-mittens]

what's your opinion on mechanical pencils

I prefer mechanical pencils over regular ones bc I don't have to sharpen them and my sketches stay consistent when I'm drawing lol. The only problem I have is the graphite breaks a lot bc it's so thin

[master-of-metal66]

Nikki Sixx sketch in a train, on my way to Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard concert.

Tonight we rock 🤘🏻🤩

[suffertrin]

small sketch before i head off to snoozeville for the night

[mimimarilynart]

2000 Sheng | Xiaosheng

I haven't been this emotionally moved/impacted by a fictional character in a very long time... one of the absolute best I've seen in cdramas, ever

[erhuh]

Drawing Shizuka Yoshimoto again because omg shes so smol and I want to protec her and omg her eyes and hair 🤭🥹

I’m going over it again in pencil I am not finelining this I will ruin it I will I will I will !!! So yeah I’m really happy with this omg I have peaked forever

[coloringjournals]

[chillychive]

Mechanical pencils are soo annoying. Cause it's like "yay I have a mechanical pencil im so cool" and then you run out of lead and just throw it away cause where the heck do you buy more lead?? I certainly don't know.

[eggbunni]

Beauty shots of my current favorite mechanical pencils in my collection. 😍 They make me a better artist. 😏 … Just kidding. But they sure do look pretty and feel nice + premium to hold. 🤩

[neonpurrs]

My shitty dollar value mechanical pencil broke so I ended up looking into it and buying a higher quality one. I didn’t even know there was a mechanical pencil community!

[noxcaelestia]

Huge mechanical pencil fan please tell us more (i don’t draw i just fucking love them)

Hello, thank you for your message! To love mechanical pencils is a great thing. ☺️

To get things started, I gathered up as many mechanical pencils (and mechanical erasers) as I could find and have used in the past year.

I absolutely love mechanical pencils because they’re so convenient, durable, reusable, reliable, versatile, and what I learned from using regular pencils in art especially can most certainly be replicated without worrying about many other drawbacks.

This will be a super long post so please bear with me!

This is a set of Pentel GraphGear 1000 pencils (my favorites) which includes one of each of 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm. The 0.4mm was a separate purchase. It comes with four boxes of Pentel HB Super lead for each size and a tube of replacement erasers for this line and many other compatible pencils.

The Pentel GraphGear 1000 series are my favorites because of their rigid design and retractable point that keeps the lead steady and prevents accidents from pokes to drops. The clip is sturdy and acts as a button to retract the point. You can also twist the barrel and always know what lead hardness you’re using whether it’s 2B, B, HB or H. These are amazing to use on good, lightly textured paper.

The leads shown are the Uni Kuru Toga HB 0.5mm, and Pentel Ain Stein in HB 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm and one 2B 0.3mm.

The KuruToga lead is made with the KuruToga technology in mind with a softer outer layer and a harder inner layer to maintain a more consistent thickness through the pencil’s turning mechanism.

Pentel Ain Stein leads are made specifically to write smoother than standard leads by default though they also have varying degrees of hardness/softness. These are my usual lately.

Uni KuruToga, 0.3mm and 0.5mm (standard)

The mechanism in the Uni KuruToga is made to rotate minutely when the lead hits the surface in order to promote a more consistent line. It may be more suitable for writing but I find it helpful for quick drawings when I don’t need to swap out a different size for a certain effect.

Pentel Orenz, 0.2mm and 0.3mm

The Pentel Orenz is meant to help with preventing lead breakage with its own gradually retractable tube (also likely better suited for writing). The lead is meant to sit mostly inside for it to prove effective. When drawing, I tend to ignore this function depending on what I’m doing (it holds up quite well if I’m careful). Plus, it’s the only mechanical pencil I’ve found commercially and affordably that used 0.2mm, the smallest commercially available lead I could find. It’s wonderful for minute details in pencil.

Pilot AirBlanc in 0.3mm

The Pilot AirBlanc have proven indispensable in some of my language study classes years ago where smaller lines made the characters easier to write and more legible for me. The pink one was a gift from a class and I bought a second one in blue. The pencil is quite soft and comfortable and it’s quite fun to use.

Pentel P200 series pencils in 0.5mm (two have blue and red Pentel Super 0.5mm lead respectively) and one in 0.7mm

The Pentel P200 series have been super reliable for me over the years. I’d keep them so long until the metal part lost its sheen but they were still plenty functional for years and harsh usage. (More than once did a single P205 last me for art classes over the years including drawing as large as 18x24in).

It’s a great sleek, versatile and durable option that’s relatively cheap and easy to find in most stationery sections and art stores, sometimes with additional leads and erasers. The 0.5mm was my favorite size for a long time because it’s thin enough for fine detailing in my drawing but also a comfortable size for writing finely.

GraphGear 500 series in 0.9mm and 0.3mm

A more heavyweight drafting option, the GraphGear 500 is more clunky and less stylish than its successor. They do their job well for writing and drawing but the grip is not very comfortable for long periods of use but it does prevent slipping. The metal tip does not retract like the 1000 series unfortunately.

The mechanical erasers I use are from the Tombow Mono line a 2.5x5mm, a 2.3mm and a 3.8mm. They are excellent for erasing small to fine marks and are decently durable and smooth (though a previous 3.8mm one split in half and shattered after continuous wear).

A “how it’s started vs. how it’s going” model comparison since I began working with and completely adapting to mechanical pencils for writing and drawing.

I hope this was informative! I couldn’t help myself!

(​Fun fact: my schooling was weird in my early years and we weren’t always allowed to get up to sharpen pencils even through middle school so mechanical pencils sort of helped to bandage the problem hence my long term obsession)

[gettothestabbing]

Regular mechanical pencils ARE refillable.! You just have to buy the thin "lead" sticks, in the right width... the width is written on the pencil, it's usually 0.2 mm

Yeah, my sister is all about those. But consider this: I hate them. They have no weight when writing. The leads break easily. Even if they were the more sustainable option, I'd still hate using them.

[sideprojectillustration]

Bird.

Drawn in Illustrator with Side Project's mechanical pencil brushes.